Battle of Williams
The Battle of Williams was the second major engagement betweeen the NCR and Allied militaries between the Siege of Kingman and the Siege of Nova Roma, taking place near Williams, Arizona on March 23rd, 2282. The city of Williams had a significant Legion presence of about 1,500 men based in the fort on top of Bill Williams Mountain, placed in order to control the trade route of Interstate 40 and the forests of surviving ponderosa pine, similar to those in Zion, whose wood was rare and valuable commodity in the post-war world. By the time the NCR forces arrived, the Legion forces were mostly lower-ranked, less experienced troops, with the elite being recalled east to defend Nova Roma. In spite of this, the battle was a hard-won victory for the NCR, with over 350 dead in a Legion ambush, ironically enough, using tactics similar to those of NCR at the Legion's own defeat at the First Battle of Hoover Dam. Airborne Assault The first operations around Williams consisted of an airborne assault of Vertibirds on the Legion fort on the summit of Bill Williams Mountain, supported by gunships and preceded by aerial and artillery bombardment in the early morning of March 23rd. The NCR and Brotherhood forces sent to attack the fort encountered far less resistance than expected, with only about 50 legionaries manning the fort, and thus easily secured it. Later that day, it would become apparent where the remaining Legion forces in Williams had gone. Legion Ambush With the fort on Bill Williams Mountain taken, the lead elements of the NCR-Allied offensive, consisting of about 800 infantry and 40 tanks and APCs advanced along Interstate 40 which was lined by the aforementioned pine forests. At a position east of Williams, the lead elements of the NCR column were hit by several improvised explosive devices constructed from pre-war munitions from the old Camp Navajo military base to the west. The explosions destroyed four NCR tanks, seven APCs, and over a dozen armed trucks, killing perhaps as much as 100 men. After the explosions, perhaps as many as 1400 Legion infantry burst forth from the forests on either side of the road. Those that had firearms, which included several missile launchers fired, while the rest charged into the massed column of massed vehicles. The NCR and Allied forces returned fire from their vehicles, as infantry dismounted to engage to turning the Interstate in chaotic storm of gunfire in which hundreds of soldiers fell on both sides, though the Legion sustained heavier casualties. In spite of the firepower of the NCR, in several areas along the column, the Legion infantry managed to get in close and attempted to climb on top of the NCR armor and either throwing a grenade into the vehicle or simply pulling the crew out of the hatch, before hacking and stabbing them to death. The Legion infantry, however, were held off in brutal close quarters fighting, with the Zion Volunteer Infantry fighting with distinction, holding off the Legion forces with their Thompson submachine guns and war clubs, which proved highly effective in the close quarters of the NCR vehicles and the surrounding forests. The fighting around the column lasted for only about five minute, with three attempts to charge the NCR forces being beat back. The surrounding Legion forces were finally force to retreat when forces from further up the NCR column, which dragged on for kilometers, advanced forward. As the narrow corridor of the Interstate made it difficult for NCR armor to maneuver, along with the risk of friendly fire, the role of the remaining NCR tanks and other vehicles to the rear was limited to preventing the Legion infantry from retreated to the west, while NCR infantry and cavalry forces, as well as a platoon of Brotherhood of Steel power armor forces and 15 Securitrons from New Vegas reinforced the column. Aftermath The Legion ambush caused 357 NCR and allied deaths, with a further 300 or so suffering wounds of varying severity, as well as the loss of six pre-war tanks, 12 APCs, and 37 other vehicles. Ultimately, however, the ambush would only delay the NCR assault on Nova Roma for five days, with the Siege of Nova Roma beginning on March 28th. For their part, the Legion lost 873 soldiers, with the remainder of the garrison taken POW. Category:Battles Category:Events